India - heraldry
Collection of original designs for princely coats of arms, with associated correspondence
Estimate: £500 - £800
Auction: 18 June 2025 from 10:00 BST
Description
5 watercolour designs of proposed arms for the states of Dhrangadhra (16.5 x 13cm), Morvi (22 x 17cm), Junagadh (25 x 20.5cm) and Porbandar (15 x 15cm), and one unidentified state (25 x 20.5cm), each except the last with a typed covering letter signed from the relevant dewan's office to the dewan saheb of Gondal State, 1927-8 (arms for Morvi with an additional similar letter), with pin-holes;
together with: 4 typed letters signed to the dewan saheb or hazoor secretary of Gondal State, 1927, from the secretariat of the states of Wankaner, Bhavnagar and Rajkot (the first two enclosing a description and embossed printed specimen of the state's coat of arms), and from Aubrey Toppin, Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms, College of Arms, London; autograph letter signed from J. Woods Wollaston, Richmond Herald, to the private secretary of the Maharaja of Gondal in response to his letter to the Bluemantle Pursuivant; typed letter signed to the Maharaja of Gondal from the Resident, Rajkot, 1927; 3 typed letters from Gondal huzur office, to the president of the College of Heralds, London, and others; manuscript letter, possibly a draft from the Maharaja of Gondal, to Viscount FizAlan of Derwent, Deputy Earl Marshal; collection of printed memoranda, titled ‘Arms, Flags and Seals of the Indian States. Questionnaire’, Dharangadhra, 1947 (2 pp.), ‘Note Explanatory on the Armorial Bearings of His Highness the Maharaja Raj Saheb Bahadur of Halvad-Dhrangadhra’ (7 pp.), ‘Flag Usage Rules’ (4 pp.), with 2 cyclostyled letters from the private secretary to the Maharaja of Dharangadhra; and 3 stationer's sample sheets of embossed crests (1 folder)